MI Approves SB 240 The MICHIGAN House approves SB 240, legislation that would bar the sale and distribution of powdered alcohol in the Wolverine State. The bill returns to the Senate (MLIVE.COM). Business In CA CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown...
MICHIGAN Gov. Rick Snyder signs SB 69, which extends until 2023 a program that allows community colleges to partner with employers to establish and fund jobs training programs in the Wolverine State (MICHIGAN GOVERNOR’S OFFICE).
CALIFORNIA Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs SB 165, a bill that imposes civil fines up to $40,000 against marijuana farms that damage the environment by dumping wastewater and chemicals, removing trees and killing wild animals (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET).
States usually complete the process of legislative redistricting shortly after the U.S. Census Bureau updates its population numbers every 10 years. But the remapping based on the last census in 2010 is still dragging on in a few states. In Florida...
Last year, a state audit of accounting records at the California state Controller’s Office uncovered 200,000 hours -- $6 million worth -- of questionable sick leave, vacation, holiday and furlough credits due to data entry errors. “We...
Speaking of presidential aspirants, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker took a little trip to Europe recently, ostensibly to try to make himself look more presidential by gaining some foreign policy cred. As Time magazine reports, Walker later tried to pump up...
Okay, picking just one of Donald Trump’s gaffes to make light of is akin to eating a single potato chip: how do you stop at just one? But for the sake of brevity, let’s take a short trip back down memory lane. Really short - as in just a few...
HI House Approves HB 2739 The HAWAII House approves HB 2739 , which would allow Aloha State doctors to assist terminally ill patients to end their own lives. The measure moves to the Senate (HONOLULU CIVIL BEAT). GA Governor Signs HB 159 GEORGIA...
PA Governor Doesn't Sign HB 178 PENNSYLVANIA Gov. Tom Wolfe (D) allows HB 178 , which lets school districts cite “economic reasons” as a rationale for furloughing teachers, to become law without his signature. The law also requires...
States are projecting income tax revenue growth of 3.6 percent and sales tax growth of 3.1 percent this fiscal year, down from 4 percent and 3.6 percent respectively last fiscal year and well below annual averages prior to the Great Recession, according...
Feds Say TX Misleading Voters about Voter ID Requirement The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a motion in federal court accusing TEXAS officials of misleading voters by telling them they can cast a ballot without a form of photo ID specified by...
NH House Approves Bill for Merging School Districts The NEW HAMPSHIRE House approves a bill that would, among several things, require the state’s nearly 300 school districts to study merging with their nearby counterparts to become larger districts...
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) signed legislation last week (SB 2364) that requires Garden State police agencies seeking to obtain surplus military hardware to first obtain the permission of local government. But Christie rejected a companion bill...
Judge Colleen O’Toole, of Ohio’s 11th District Court of Appeals, has filed a federal lawsuit against Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor and two other state court officials, alleging that fundraising restrictions on judicial...
Within hours of President Donald Trump’s announcement last Thursday that he would pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D), Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced...
Twenty-four states are participating in a tax amnesty program for online sellers that contract with “marketplace facilitators” to expand their sales but that have failed to pay sales taxes on the associated transactions. Small businesses...
A few years ago, government computer systems in Utah were sustaining 25,000 to 30,000 attempted cyber-attacks a day, which Utah Public Safety Commissioner Keith Squires thought was a lot at the time. But last week Squires told a legislative budget committee...
TX Approves HB 21 The TEXAS House gives final approval to HB 21, so-called “right-to-try” legislation that would allow terminally ill patients who have exhausted all other treatment options to access experimental medications not yet approved...
LGBT Protection in LA LOUISIANA Gov.-elect John Bel Edwards (D) said he will issue an executive order to protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender state employees and government contractors from discrimination. His planned directive would protect...
OR Signs SB 460 OREGON Gov. Kate Brown (D) signs SB 460, which allows Beaver State medical marijuana dispensaries to begin also selling recreational weed on October 1, three months earlier than expected. Under the law, adults 21 and older may purchase...
With most jobs, if you don’t show up for work one time you might as well not show up ever again. Not so for lawmakers, who often ditch their duties with no repercussion at all. That could soon change in Maine, where the House and Senate have endorsed...
Under President Obama’s proposed budget, a longstanding source of funding would not be available for a new arena in Milwaukee for the Bucks, a new stadium in St. Louis for the Rams or a new sports complex in Oakland for its baseball, basketball...
A decade ago, Texas Sen. Troy Fraser (R), championed legislation to promote the production of wind power in the state. Now he’s pushing to end the Renewable Energy Credit program that requires power companies to buy credits from wind and solar energy...
Back on March 24, Flint, Michigan mayor Karen Weaver served notice that the city might file a lawsuit against the state over the lead contamination of the city’s water supply. Weaver and other city officials reportedly had no immediate plans to...
Social Policy In Indiana A federal judge strikes down an INDIANA law that required women to undergo an ultrasound at least 18 hours prior to an abortion. U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt said the law would “place an undue burden”...